


The Queens Mistress

by Lostinimagination



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Developing Relationship, F/F, Lesbian Character, Rape/Non-con Elements, Sexual Assault
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-27
Updated: 2020-08-20
Packaged: 2021-03-06 08:00:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 14,270
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25559971
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lostinimagination/pseuds/Lostinimagination
Summary: The curse never happened. The Charming Family has been in hiding until Emma's eighteenth birthday when they finally face The Evil Queen.
Relationships: Evil Queen | Regina Mills/Emma Swan
Comments: 59
Kudos: 237





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> None of these characters are my own. I am just the puppeteer who makes them do my bidding. Enjoy!

“So, I finally get to meet the Charming spawn.” The Evil Queen smirked as she looked over the trio dressed in peasant garb.

“Leave her alone, Regina. Stay out of our lives.” Snow White stood ground protectively in front of her daughter, her husband by her side.

“Like you stayed out of mine?” She spoke slowly, deliberately, having dreamed of this meeting for years. She walked slowly around the small family taking them in from all angles.

“I was a child, I thought I was doing a good thing,” she protested.

“You were old enough to know better, but you were selfish. You wanted me for yourself, for your father, you didn’t care what I wanted, who I wanted.” She kept circling them, slowly getting closer. “You got what you wanted, when is it my turn? Oh, I know, now. Now it’s my turn to get what I want.”

“Don’t you touch my wife.” David stepped in front of Snow.

“I have no intention of touching your wife.” Regina stopped in front of their daughter, looking her up and down. “The gene pool was kind to you.” Emma blushed even though she was afraid of the imposing, leather-clad woman who stood before her. “What’s your name, dear?”

The frightened young woman looked down as she spoke. “Emma.”

“What was that? You will look at your queen.”

She lifted her head, but not enough for their eyes to meet, and spoke a little louder. “My name is Emma.”

Regina smiled. She enjoyed the fear she inspired among the populous. “Emma.”

“Leave her alone. Your fight is with me, not her.” Snow’s eyes were like slits.

“You took away someone very important to me, it’s only fair that I do the same to you,” she reasoned.

“Then take me,” David offered.

Regina laughed. “And what would I do with you?”

“Torture me, kill me, just don’t hurt our daughter.”

“But taking her would torture you, would it not?” The queen’s smile spoke not of her happiness, but her cruelty.

“She’s innocent, Regina.”

“As I was innocent when I was forced to be with your father. I was innocent when he raped me on our wedding night. I was innocent when he did it again and again, night after night until he tired of trying to give himself a male heir with me. Do you know how many tears I shed, how many bruises I received, how much pain I endured all because of you, Snow? No, you don’t, but you will.”

“No, Regina, don’t do this, please, don’t do this to her. This isn’t what her life is supposed to be.”

“And what is her life supposed to be? Oh, yes, you were to inherit the throne, and she after you, Princess Emma.” Regina looked at the young woman one more time. “How about we compromise,” she looked Snow in the eye. “She will be the queen’s mistress.”

“NOOOOOO!!!!!”

“Have her prepared and taken to my chambers.”

***

Emma was roughly pushed into the queen’s chambers by the royal guard. She looked for the imposing woman, but she found herself alone in the large suite. She wondered, not only what was to happen to her, but what had become of her parents. It was her fault they had been taken. She had been sheltered by them for her entire life, but it was her birthday and she wanted to go out. After days of pleading, they finally acquiesced and took her to town. They told her she could pick something out for herself from the shop and they would have a meal before returning home. Her fingers found the swan pendant hanging from the delicate chain around her neck.

“My, my, my, you do clean up well.” Emma had not heard the queen enter the chamber and her hands immediately dropped to her sides. “What do you have there?” Regina gently drew her index finger down the exposed tan skin and gently examined the pendant. “A swan, beauty from ugliness. Is that you, my dear, beauty from ugliness?”

Emma was afraid to speak. She had felt electricity flow through her body at the light touch of the older woman.

“I asked you a question, Em-ma.” Regina breathed into her ear. “I expect an answer.”

“It’s…it’s my birthday gift, from my parents.” She stammered nervously.

“A birthday gift? Is it your birthday, Em-ma?”

“Yes, your highness, it is.”

“And how old would you be today?” She once more circled the young woman, looking her up and down.

“I’m eighteen.”

“Do I make you nervous?” Regina enjoyed toying with people. She enjoyed the power her position provided her.

“Yes.”

“Yes, what?” She prompted.

“Yes, my queen.” Emma didn’t know exactly what the older woman had in store for her, but she was smart enough to know that angering her would not be in her best interest.

“That’s better.” She brushed the back of her fingers across the young woman’s cheek and lifted her chin, forcing her to look at her. “Now, why do I make you nervous, Em-ma?”

Emma looked into the chocolate-colored eyes fixed on her own. “I don’t know.” She had trouble collecting her thoughts when the beautifully imposing woman was so very close to her.

“Oh, I’m sure you do,” Regina spoke softly, urging the young woman before her to let down her guard. “Is it because your mother has told you how evil I can be? Is it because you don’t know the fate of your parents? Is it something else?”

“Yes.” She wanted to look back down at the floor, but the queen’s ample cleavage distracted her on the way down.

“Yes what, Em-ma.” She breathed.

“Yes, my queen.” She forced her eyes further down, but the queen had noticed their hesitation.

“I asked you three questions. Which were you answering yes to?” Regina knew that her breasts could be a distraction and that pleased her.

“All of them, my queen.”

“All of them? You must be a very nervous woman. Are you a very nervous woman, Em-ma?” She had noticed the slight tinge in her cheeks every time she drew out her name, so she opted to do it more often.

“No, my queen.” She was getting flustered.

“No? But you just told me you were? Are you lying to me, Emma?” Her voice was still soft, still near her ear, but a little colder at the thought her newest plaything wasn’t being truthful with her.

“No, my queen, I’m not lying. I’m not usually nervous, but I am today, now.”

“Go on.” She resumed slowly circling the young woman.

“My mother, both of my parents, have told me stories of you, how you...hurt people, people who displease you.”

“I do have a reputation,” she agreed. “Continue.”

She struggled to remember the questions the queen had posed to her moments before. “My parents, what is to become of them?”

“They are safe, for the time being. Having you in my bed-chamber is more torture for them than any whip could provide.”

“What is to become of me?” She whispered to the floor.

“Didn’t you hear me before? Emma, you are the queen’s mistress.”

“But what does that mean?” She looked up, her eyes seeking those of her captor.

“You really are innocent, aren’t you?” Regina was surprised at this revelation.

“I…if you say so.” She replied nervously, her fingers fidgeting with one another.

Regina frowned slightly, her young captive’s disclosure adding a wrinkle to her plans. She took her by the hand and led her to a cushioned chair. She poured them each a glass of the velvety red wine she always had stocked in her room. “Merlot?” She handed a glass to the younger woman.

“I’ve never had wine. Is it good?”

“I enjoy it.” She took a drink as the younger woman sipped carefully from her own glass.

“It’s…fruity?” She took a larger drink and held the glass in both hands, waiting for whatever was to happen next.

“Tell me about yourself, Emma, tell me about your life.”

The young, blond woman shrugged. “There isn’t much to tell. It’s just me and my parents. They are very protective of me, too protective.” She took another drink of the dark red wine. “I almost never get to go into town. They tell me it’s for my own good, that it’s not safe for me there.”

Regina found herself intrigued by the lovely blond woman who sat before her.

“Why isn’t it safe? My troops are everywhere.” She wished to keep any insurrections at a minimum so years ago she had stationed men in nearly every town in her realm.

“They said I wasn’t safe from you.” She again spoke to the floor.

“And here you are.” Regina drained her wine glass, unsure how she was feeling about what the girl was telling her. She poured herself another, fuller glass and looked at Emma’s half-empty glass, deciding not to refill hers for now. “Go on.”

“Our life is simple, but I knew there had to be more out there. I begged and pleaded for days for them to take me to town for my birthday. I guess I finally wore them down.” She looked into her wine glass. “I only wanted…it doesn’t matter.” She emptied the contents of her glass, set it on the table beside her chair, and resumed fidgeting with her fingers.

Regina refilled the empty glass. For some reason, she wanted to know more about her guest. “You wanted…what?”

“There’s not much to do at home so I read a lot. I know they’re just fairy tales, but someone always comes to the rescue and they live happily ever after. I know I should be grateful for the life my parents gave me but…” she trailed off.

“But you can’t live with your parents forever and you were hoping to meet someone who would sweep you off your feet and give you your happy ending.”

“Something like that.” She drank from her wine glass.

“And now?

“And now what?” She looked up at the arched eyebrow of the dark-haired woman. “My queen.”

The queen smiled; her young guest was learning. “I haven’t decided what I’m doing with you. Normally I would have had you naked and begging for mercy by now, but…maybe I’m getting old, or maybe I want to savor finally being able to get my revenge on your mother. Either way, happy birthday, Emma.” Regina rose from her chair and gently kissed the lips of the still seated blond before disappearing in a puff of purple smoke.

Emma, once more alone, touched her lips with her fingers, feeling the spot where the woman whom she had been told to fear for her entire life had so tenderly given her her first kiss.


	2. Chapter 2

Regina reappeared from her puff of purple magic smoke wearing latex and leather, riding crop in hand. “Snow, Charming, are you enjoying my hospitality as much as your daughter is?” She grinned salaciously at the only guests currently residing in her dungeon.

“What have you done with her?” Snow shouted at her former stepmother.

“She’s ‘relaxing’ in my bed chamber. What did you expect of my mistress?” She slapped the riding crop against the bars of their cell.

“If you hurt her, so help me I’ll-”

“You’ll what, Charming? You’re locked in here where you belong, you should be happy I’m allowing the two of you to share a cell. I can always separate you and move you to one of the lower levels of the dungeon. One of the dank, moldy levels, where it’s oh so easy to forget all about you.”

“You wouldn’t dare.”

“Don’t tempt me, Snow.” She glared at the couple, then her features softened. “I’ll keep you here for now, with the window open.” She flicked her wrist and the glass behind the bars disappeared. “Now you will be able to hear your daughter scream and debate whether its from pleasure or pain.” She flicked her wrist once more and left in a puff of smoke.

***

Emma sat in her chair for a long time after her captor left. She wasn’t sure what to expect from her. For as long as she could remember she had heard tales of the evil queen and how she loved to torture and kill people. She had heard how much the woman hated her parents and that she needed to be kept safe from her at all costs. The queen frightened her, but she hadn’t done anything to hurt her, not yet anyway.

She touched the spot on her neck where the older woman had traced her finger when she looked at her necklace. Emma’s own touch failed to net the same results as she had experienced at the hand of the brunette. It was something she had never felt before, that tingle that drew all the way down her body. She wondered when she would return and if she would have a similar feeling when she next touched her.

***

Regina stood outside her bed chamber, knowing her new mistress was on the other side of the heavy wooden door. Over the years she had been with dozens of men and women, some for a single encounter, some for a little longer, but the one thing that was consistent with every sexual experience of her life, was that one of the participants had been unwilling.

She remembered what it had been like her first time, her wedding night with Leopold. She had no idea what to expect when he forced himself on her. She tried not to think about that night and the many that had followed it, him grunting on top of her, sweating until he rolled off. She had prayed to get pregnant just so that he would stop his nightly visits, but then she would get her period and he would beat her. He blamed her for not giving him the son he felt he deserved from her. Eventually, he gave up, coming less often, but the beatings still happened. He was always careful to avoid her abdomen, just in case she was pregnant.

She had cried herself to sleep all of those nights. She didn’t know why, but she didn’t want that for the woman who was waiting for her a few feet away. It was Snow White’s daughter, the child of the child who had been responsible for her losing the only one who ever loved her, Daniel. Even so, it was the mother she blamed, not Emma.

She briefly considered knocking but then decided against it, it was her bed chamber after all, even if it was currently occupied by another.

Emma looked up when she realized she was no longer alone. “I’ve just been to see your parents. They’re settling in nicely to their accommodations.”

“They’re safe?” Emma held her breath waiting for her response.

“I haven’t touched a hair on their heads.” She poured herself another glass of the Merlot. “Care for another?” She offered the younger woman.

Emma wasn’t sure how to answer. She didn’t know what the rules were to being a mistress. She assumed it meant she needed to submit to whatever the queen expected of her, but with her sheltered life, she didn’t know what that might be. “It makes my head feel funny.”

Regina smiled unconsciously. “It makes my head feel funny, what?”

“It makes my head feel funny, my queen.”

“Do you find that to be unpleasant?” she queried.

Emma tilted her head, trying to decide before she shook it slightly.

“Have you eaten?” Regina realized that an empty stomach, coupled with her inexperience with alcohol was going to make for a drunken mistress in no time.

“Not since this morning, my queen.”

“Are you hungry?”

Emma nodded carefully, afraid to ask for anything and risk incurring the ire of the evil queen. Regina went to the door, spoke to the servant stationed outside, and returned to the young blond. “I’m having dinner sent up for the two of us.”

“Why are you being so nice to me?” she looked at the older woman. “Your highness.”

“Do you want me to be the Evil Queen you have been warned about?” She raised a perfectly shaped eyebrow at the blond.

“Not really, your highness.” She continued to fidget with her hands.

Regina watched the young woman. She looked more like her father than her mother, she was thankful for that, she didn’t think she could tolerate looking at a younger version of Snow White’s face in her bed chamber. She was young, she was beautiful, she was completely naïve.

They sat in silence, Emma looking down and playing with her hands while Regina watched her. Their solitude broken by a knock at the door and a long-haired woman entered carrying a covered tray. She set the tray on the table, curtseyed to the queen, and turned to leave as quietly as she had come in. “Thank you, Belle. I won’t be needing you for the rest of the night.”

“Very good, your highness.” She spoke with an accent Emma’s inexperience with the outside world didn’t allow her to identify.”

“Go ahead, you may eat.” Regina wanted to watch her young unwilling visitor. She refilled her wine glass and leaned back in her chair, one leg draped over the arm, her foot dangling in mid-air.

Emma retook her seat and began eating. “Are you not hungry, your highness?”

“Maybe later. Tell me more about you.” Regina surprised even herself at the request.

Emma swallowed and asked, “what do you want to know?”

“Tell me of your life.”

“Like I said, it’s just me and my parents. I never went to school, mom taught me. We never had anyone over. Dad would go into town about every month or so to get what we needed. We have a garden, chickens.” She continued to eat her dinner.

Regina found herself intrigued by her young guest. Emma was the first person Regina had allowed herself to get to know in a long time. She had walled herself off emotionally years ago, it was the only way she had known to protect herself from the heartbreak and abuse she had suffered when she was about the same age as the blond she watched finish her dinner.

As Emma ate the last of the food on her plate she looked around, uncertain what she should do next. “Where do I wash this?”

“What?” The soft voice drew the queen from her thoughts. “Oh, just put it with the tray, someone will take care of it later.” She rose from her chair, suddenly wanting to be alone. “Let me show you to your room.” She opened a door near the exit from her own quarters. “You will be sleeping here tonight.”


	3. Chapter 3

Regina rose earlier than was her usual, she hadn’t sleep well, there was too much on her mind. She heard no sound from the small room where Emma was sleeping. Regina had discovered early on that while the sex might be enjoyable, she often didn’t want to spend the remainder of the night with her partners, so she had the room minimally furnished for them to stay in after she finished with them, if they were lucky enough to be allowed to stay with her at all.

“Good morning, your highness. Can I get you anything?”

“Have Rocinante saddled up for me. And have breakfast sent up for Emma.”

“Yes, your highness. Is she…do I need to call for the healer?”

“No, Belle, she’s intact, there is no need for Dr. Whale. If she requires anything…”

“I understand, your highness, have a nice ride.”

“Thank you.” Regina headed toward the palace kitchens.

“Do you have any apples?” the queen asked of the elderly woman stirring something in a large pot.

“Going to the stables?” She pointed to a basket on the counter.

“I need to clear my head.” She grabbed two pieces of the ripe, red fruit.

“Don’t be out too long, it’s going to rain this afternoon, a pretty good one, too.”

“Thanks, Granny.” She smiled at the older woman who had been a fixture in the castle since before she had resided there.

***

“Okay boy, let’s take a rest.” Regina slowed her horse and let him drink from a stream while she sat by the water’s edge. When he had had his fill of water, he nuzzled her ear, hoping she had brought him another apple. She shared the one she had been saving for herself with the loyal steed. “What am I going to do about her?” She asked her equine companion. He shook his head, almost as if he understood what she was asking. “I’ve hated Snow for so long. I’ve taken my anger for her out on so many people and now, when I finally have the opportunity to get my revenge on her through her daughter, I don’t know if I can do it. What is it about her? Maybe she reminds me of me at that age. Maybe I don’t want history to repeat itself.”

***

Regina headed from the stables straight to the dungeons. “Ah, that’s how I like to see you, behind bars.”

“What have you done with our daughter?”

“I don’t know why you keep asking me these questions. She’s my mistress, what do you think I’ve been doing with your daughter?” She smiled cruelly at the imprisoned couple. “I know, you want me to give you details so you don’t have to imagine what we’ve been up in my bed chamber.”

“I don’t want details; I want my daughter! I want Emma!”

“Sorry, she’s mine. And I’ll do what I want with her.” She turned to leave. “I forgot to ask; did you hear her screams last night? Any votes on whether they were pleasure or pain?” She looked from one parent to the other. “No? I’ll have to try harder next time.”

***

The queen stormed into her chambers, frustrated with her warring emotions. She emptied a wine bottle and threw it at the wall, shattering it. Emma rushed from her room to see what had caused the commotion.

“What happened? Um, my queen.” She looked from the broken glass to the woman, still wearing her riding clothes.

“Nothing.” The older woman went to the door. “Belle, have someone clean this up.”

“Right away, your highness.” She left to get the maid.

“Are you…are you hurt, my queen?” Emma looked over the older woman, reaching out to examine her hands.

“I’m fine, Emma,” she snapped, going out to watch the storm roll in from her balcony.

The young woman stood, watching as the queen paced the width of the outdoor living space, her hair blowing in the increasing wind.

Belle entered the chamber, followed by a beautiful woman with a red streak in her hair. As the broken glass was swept up, Emma attempted a conversation with the two newcomers. “Hi, I’m Emma,” she smiled. “You’re Belle, right, and you are…?”

“Ruby.” She looked around the area for more shards.

“It’s nice to meet you.”

Ruby glanced through the window and saw that the queen was looking away from the castle. “She’s your problem now, just don’t piss her off.”

“What do you mean?”

“She’ll take her anger out on the rest of us when she’s done with you. The only ones she’s kind to are Belle and Granny. Talk to me later, I’ll teach you what she likes.”

“Ruby, you have to finish up, she’ll be back inside any minute,” Belle warned.

“Good luck.” Ruby stole another glance outside before she gathered up the broken glass and her cleaning supplies and left.

Emma was left alone to wonder what the red-haired woman meant by teaching her what she likes.

***

Regina watched as the storm approached. The weather mirroring her emotions. She wasn’t angry, but she was conflicted. The source of her inner turmoil was just inside. She could lock her away with her parents in the dungeons, but she wanted to know more about the girl. She didn’t want to just use her the way she had used so many before, the way she had been used. But she was Snow’s daughter and she had vowed to make her stepdaughter pay for the pain she had caused Regina so many years ago. The rain began to pelt her face and she returned to the interior of the castle.

Emma was attempting to light a fire in the fireplace when the queen strode into the room. Emma looked up at the beautiful woman. “It’s gotten cold out, I thought a fire might warm you up, your highness,” Emma stammered. Her brief conversation with the maid made her fearful of the older woman once more.

Regina sighed. “Step back.” Emma looked at her, perplexed. “I said, step back,” Regina spoke more forcefully, and the young woman complied. Regina threw a small fireball into the fireplace and the flames began to lick the logs.

“How…how did you do that?” Emma asked incredulously.

Regina just smiled. “Magic.” She sat in her chair near the fireplace. “Take off my boots and draw me a bath.”

Emma knelt before the queen and began removing the tall riding boots. The nearness of the dark-haired beauty caused a warmth to spread within Emma or was it just the heat from the now raging fire.

Regina smiled slightly as she watched the blond performing her requested task. “I’ll clean your boots for you later if you wish, your highness, if you show me where the brush is. I take care of Dad’s boots all the time.”

At the mention of David, her smile vanished, and she rose from the chair. “My bath.” She began undressing as Emma went to run the water.

Emma’s jaw dropped when she saw the naked queen walking toward her. “You like what you see?” When Emma didn’t speak, Regina continued. “You’ve never seen a naked woman before, have you?”

Emma shook her head slowly, her eyes never leaving the queen. “No, your majesty, just me.”

“It appears that I will be your first for many things.” She lowered herself into the steaming tub. She acclimated herself to the temperature and slid further down, immersing her head completely. When she emerged, she handed Emma a bottle. “Wash my hair.”

The blond squirted some of the apple-scented fluid into her hand and began lathering the older woman’s scalp, massaging as she did so. “You have talented fingers; I wonder what else they can do?” she chuckled.

“Mom taught me to sew and-”

Regina interrupted. “It was a rhetorical question, my dear.”

“Oh.” Her eyes fell, paying closer attention to what her hands were doing.

“What were you and Ruby talking about?” The queen asked innocently.

“Nothing, your highness,” she spoke in a voice barely above a whisper.

“Don’t lie to me, Emma.”

“She said to not piss you off or you would take your anger out on everyone else once you were done with me.”

Regina smiled to herself. “Did she say anything else?”

Emma was unsure where her loyalties should lie, with the servants who lived in fear of the queen, or to the queen who instilled such fear in the populous. She chose the cautious route. “She said that Belle and Granny are the only people you are kind to and that she would teach me what you like.”

“And how will she be teaching you these things?”

“She didn’t say, your highness.” Emma had been wondering just what likes and dislikes the maid had been referring to.

The queen once again dunked her head beneath the water, rinsing the shampoo from her hair. She stood, the water cascading off her naked body, and indicated for Emma to give her her robe.

She handed her the garment as she stepped out of the tub. “I’ve met Belle, but who is Granny?”

“She runs the kitchens; she’s been working in the castle for most of her life. She’s excellent at what she does. Are you hungry?”

“It’s been a-” she was interrupted by a cry of pain from the queen. “What is it, your highness?” she asked worriedly.

“Help me sit down.” She leaned on the younger woman and sat on a chair, lifting her foot and plucking a shard of glass from the sole of her foot. She grimaced as she removed the offending sliver from her flesh, blood trickling down her skin. “Belle!” The queen roared, loud enough for the entire wing of the castle to hear.

The door opened at once. “Yes, your highness?”

“Ruby! Now!”

“Right away, your highness.” The door closed after her.

Emma knelt to see what she could to for the queen and wiped away the blood with her fingers. “I think you might need stitches. How do I get the doctor?” Emma may have feared the woman, but she was still concerned for her well being.

“There is no need.” She waved her hand and the cut disappeared.

“More magic, your highness?” The queen nodded in response. “If you can fix it so easily, why did you so angrily call for Ruby?”

“She didn’t do her job properly and she needs to be disciplined for that.” She took Emma’s chin roughly, wanting her to look her in the eye. “And NEVER question my decisions.”

Emma looked at the floor while the queen watched her, trying to sort the emotions she had about the young blond. A knock at the door caused her to take focus from her mistress. “Enter.”

“You requested me, your highness?” Ruby stepped inside, her eyes downcast.

“What is this?” The beautiful brunette once more appeared calm. She held the bloody shard of glass in the palm of her hand.

“It, umm, I must have missed that when I was cleaning up earlier. My apologies, your majesty.”

“Such a dereliction of your duties is unforgivable, Ruby. I was injured when I stepped on it.”

“It won’t happen again.” The maid was nervous, she knew what was likely in store for her.

“It shouldn’t have happened this time,” she purred, in total control of the situation.

“No, your majesty, it shouldn’t.”

“What are we going to do about it?”

“I…I deserve to be punished.”

“Yes, you do. How shall I punish you?”

Ruby took a deep breath and got the riding crop from where she knew it to be kept.

Regina smiled knowingly. “Very good, Ruby, assume the position.” Emma watched from across the room, afraid of what she would soon be witnessing. The maid disrobed; her clothing pooled on the floor near her feet. She knelt on all fours near the foot of the bed.

“How many have you earned this time?”

“It is for my queen to decide.” She closed her eyes, her body tensing in anticipation of the first blow.

The older woman landed five blows in quick succession to the younger woman’s rear end. “Have you been suitably punished?”

“It is for you to decide, my queen.” She gritted her teeth, willing her tears not to fall.

“I’m feeling generous today. That will do. But I feel that I am due some compensation for the pain your carelessness has caused. Some attention for your inattention.” She grinned lasciviously.

“Yes, my queen.” Regina sat on the foot of the bed, her robe open and her legs spread. Ruby moved forward and the queen guided her toward her apex, her hand keeping her head in place. Her other hand on the bedpost for support. Her eyes locked on Emma’s.

The younger woman was torn, embarrassed to be seeing such an intimacy between the two women, apprehensive that this was someday to be her role, and warmly tingling at the sight of it all. She watched as the queen’s body stiffened and arched, her knuckles whitening as she tightened her grip. She trapped the maid’s head between her thighs, then relaxed completely.

Ruby rocked back, away from the queen, and waited. As the older woman composed herself, she dismissed the maid with a wave of her hand. “Don’t let this negligence happen again.”

“Yes, my queen.” She gathered her clothing from the floor and quickly exited the chambers.

Regina looked back at Emma, closed her robe, and vanished in a puff of purple smoke.


	4. Chapter 4

“An afternoon rain can be so…refreshing, don’t you think.” The queen had reappeared in the dungeon, much to the dismay of its occupants.

“How long are you going to keep us here, Regina?” Snow White was tired of pacing the barred cell.

“Is there somewhere you need to be? Do you need to ruin someone else’s life?”

“Regina, this all happened a long time ago, can’t you just let Snow, Emma, and I go, and we can all live our lives. I promise you never have to see us again,” David pleaded.

“No, Shepherd, I can’t. You seem to keep forgetting that your dear wife had my Daniel killed just so I could take her mother’s place. You’re forgetting all the abuse I suffered at the hands of her father. Now is the time for my revenge, the time for my payback.”

“Then take it out on us and leave Emma alone, she’s innocent in all of this!”

“Oh, yes, she is innocent, or she was before she met me. I was pleasantly surprised by her naiveté. You told her nothing of what to expect when she was with another. She had absolutely no idea what awaited her in my bed chamber, and I get to be her first for so many things.” She suggestively played with the lapel of her robe. “Your daughter has talented fingers.”

“Regina, so help me…”

“It’s your own doing, Snow. Someone has to teach her what you did not.” She waved her hand and vanished as quickly as she had appeared.

***

Emma smoothed the duvet where the queen had been just moments before. What had transpired between the queen and the maid? Was that what Ruby was speaking of when she said she would teach her what she liked? Should she ask the queen all of her questions? Would that anger her and bring out the evil queen she had so often been warned about? Her musings were interrupted when the older woman poofed back into the bed chamber.

“Did you miss me?”

Emma quickly stepped back from the bed. “Where did you go, my queen?”

“I had some business to attend to, nothing you need to think about.”

“You do that a lot.”

“I am the queen. This realm doesn’t run itself. And I thought I told you never to question me. Or do you need to be punished, as well?” The queen raised her eyebrow at the young woman.

Emma looked at the floor and spoke softly. “No, my queen.”

“Good. I’m not in the mood for that.” She went to the door and spoke to the woman who waited outside. She went to the wall of glass doors that separated her chambers from the balcony and watched as the rain poured outside and lightning flashed across the sky. “I’ve always loved a good storm. How about you, Emma?”

“No, your highness, they frighten me.” As if to punctuate her statement a crack of thunder caused her to jump and move further from the glass.

Regina was touched at the girls’ fear and went to her. She stroked her cheek and took her hand. “It can’t hurt you in here, you’re safe from the storm.” She watched the girl as she looked up at her, searching for her eyes to see that she was telling her the truth. A knock on the door took both their attention. The queen went to answer the door and Emma was left to question the feelings the older woman kept instilling in her, the electricity on her skin, and the tingling that coursed through her body.

Regina allowed the servant to leave their meal, just as she had the previous day, and invited Emma to dine with her.

***

They finished their meal in silence, the queen’s eyes rarely leaving Emma. “Spit it out, what do you want to ask?”

“You told me never to question you, my queen,” Emma spoke softly. Still afraid of the storm outside and the potential volatility of the woman inside.

“I told you to never question my decisions. There is a difference between second-guessing me and asking me a question. Is it about this afternoon, with Ruby?”

Emma looked at the older woman out of the corner of her eye, judging if it was safe to speak. She decided that to not say anything would be more likely to draw her ire. “What Ruby did to you…is that what I will be doing to you?”

The queen shrugged. “It could be, depends on my mood. I saw you watching, does it interest you? Do I interest you?” Regina genuinely wanted to know the answer to her question, but she doubted Emma would respond when she looked away, her face reddened. Regina left her chair and knelt beside Emma’s. “You don’t know anything about sex do you, Emma?” She asked softly.

“No, my queen, only what I saw this afternoon. And I don’t know what’s expected of me as your mistress.” Her voice was so soft Regina had to strain to hear her over the storm outside.

“Your mother didn’t tell you anything, even when you started to…mature.” She didn’t want to offend the naïve girl when she appeared so vulnerable.

Emma shook her head. “She explained about the bleeding, that it meant that I could now have a baby but when I asked her to tell me more she said that I was too young and that we would talk about it when I was older. She said that the next few times I asked, too, then I stopped asking.”

Regina rose and went to the window, watching the clouds play in the darkening sky. “I expect your obedience and your honesty. I won’t accept less than that.” She watched the reflection of Emma’s head nod in acquiescence. “I’m going to the stables; you should go to your room.” She flicked her wrist and left in her familiar cloud of smoke.

Emma sat alone, wondering what was to become of her life. She went to the door to let Belle know that she could take their dishes away.

“Will I be needed any further this evening?” She asked Emma.

“I don’t know, the queen said she was going to the stables. She isn’t going riding in this weather, is she?”

“You’re concerned for her safety?” Belle questioned, unused to anyone caring about the queen beyond trying to keep on her good side.

“Is that wrong?”

Belle chose not to answer the question. “Sometimes she goes to spend time with her horse. Maybe she wanted to make sure he was okay in the storm.” She knew the queen often sought the counsel of the strong beast when she needed to sort things out in her head, but this wasn’t something the new mistress needed to be made aware of. She took the tray and left the girl once more alone.

***

“I’m back. Didn’t think you’d see me again today, did you?” She kissed her old friend on the muzzle and reached into her pocket for the apple she picked up before leaving the castle. “Did you have time to think about it for me? What I’m going to do about her?” She picked up a brush and began grooming the impressive animal. “I’m the evil queen, I have a reputation to uphold. If anyone knew she had been in my chambers for two days and nothing had happened between us besides conversation and meals, well, I don’t know what they would think. Maybe I’m getting tired of it all. I’ve hated Snow White for over two decades and where has it gotten me? Sure, the entire realm fears me, most likely hates me, too. And I’m alone. I think maybe I might not want to be alone anymore.”

***

Emma was lying on her bed, but not asleep when she heard a knock at her door. “Come…come in.” She sat up; unsure what fate awaited her.

The queen opened her door. “May I?”

“This room is part of your chambers, your highness.”

“Yes, it is, but…I’m going to sit by the fire with a glass of wine. I was wondering if you might join me.”

“Umm, yes, of course, your highness.” She followed the older woman to the chairs near the fireplace. Regina poured them both a glass of merlot and threw a fireball onto the stacked wood in the fireplace.

“That comes in handy.” She nodded toward the flames already licking at the logs.

“Magic does come at a price.” She downed half her glass of wine. “Tell me more about yourself, Emma.”

“I don’t know that there is much more to tell.” She sipped at her own wine. “But you could tell me about yourself, your highness, that is, if you wanted to.”

“I’m sure your parents have told you many stories about me, most of them true.”

“You aren’t the monster I had thought you would be my queen.”

Regina snorted. “I guess that’s something. You think that even after what you saw earlier today?”

“I’ve heard stories about how you’ve killed entire villages for no reason. How you enjoy torturing people until they beg to die. You did neither of those things today.”

“Torture and killing lose some of their appeal after a while.” She poured herself another glass of wine, emptying the last bottle. “Belle!”

The door opened and the servant entered. “Yes, your majesty?”

The queen waved the empty bottle. “You forgot to restock.”

“It won’t happen again, your highness. I’ll fetch another case.” She exited as quickly as she had entered.

“She’s not to be punished, your majesty?”

“Do you want her to be punished?”

“No, not at all. It’s, well, you punished Ruby…”

“Belle has taken care of me since I first came to the castle. She’s…I guess you could say she’s special to me.” The queen didn’t feel like keeping herself closed off from the young woman.

“How long have you been here, my queen?”

“I was a little younger than you are now.” She watched the door, waiting for it to open.

“Mom said you met when she was a girl, but she didn’t say much more about it, just that she thought you were friends, and then you weren’t, and you hated her after you married the king.”

“Of course, she wouldn’t tell you what happened. It would make her look bad and she could never have that, not the perfect daughter, not Snow White.”

“What happened between you and my mother? Why do you hate her so much? What happened with my grandfather? I heard what you said when you took us, about him…raping you.”

Belle returned with a fresh case of the wine the queen drank so much of over the years. She opened a bottle and refilled the queen’s glass and, without words, asked Regina if she should refill Emma’s as well. The monarch nodded her assent.

“Drink up, Emma, this isn’t going to be an easy story for you.” She looked at the servant. “That will be all, Belle, have a good night.”

“You, as well, my queen.”

“I was younger than you are now when I met your mother. She was riding on a runaway horse and I rescued her. Her father, the king, came the next day to my home to thank me, and he proposed marriage. His first wife had died several years before, and he wanted a mother for his daughter. My mother accepted on my behalf.” She paced the room as she remembered the events of so many years before.

“I had no interest in marrying the king and becoming queen, that was my mother’s dream. I was in love with Daniel, the stable boy. He was the one I wanted to marry. I snuck off to the stables to see him, to let him know what had happened. Your mother caught me kissing him.” She paused to drink more of the fermented beverage. “I chased after her when she ran and I made her understand that I loved Daniel, not her father, and that he was the one I wanted to marry. She said she understood that true love was the most powerful kind of magic there was, and she promised not to tell anyone about me and Daniel, especially not my mother.” She sneered as she mentioned the woman who had given birth to her.

“I should mention that my mother used magic to keep my father and I in line. We had a contentious relationship, to say the least.” She refilled her now empty wine glass, noting that Emma’s was still nearly full. “Your mother just couldn’t keep her mouth shut; she told my mother that I loved Daniel.”

“What happened?” Emma asked.

“Well, I had no idea the two of them had spoken and when I went to meet with Daniel so we could run away together, she showed up, my mother, not yours,” she clarified. “She killed him so that I would have no choice but to marry the king.” She walked over to the window, looking in the direction of her childhood home, remembering the only person, other than her father, who had truly loved her. “I was heartbroken.”

“I’m so sorry, my queen. It must have been terrible for you.”

“I didn’t even have time to grieve for him. Less than a week later, I was married to Leopold.” She emptied her wine glass again but held off getting more. “I was a virgin on my wedding night. I didn’t know what to expect, I knew about sex, but…Daniel and I had done little more than steal kisses.” She looked over at Emma. “I’m sure that your mother has told you all about what a wonderful man her father was, how he was beloved by all of his subjects, and it’s all true, but that’s not the man he was with me, at least not in private. He was still in love with his dead first wife. He forced himself on me that night, and every night after that for months. He didn’t care that I cried, that I struggled, that I begged him to stop. He wanted a son and I was unable to give him one. He blamed me for being barren, as if it was my fault. If it would have stopped him, I would have gladly gotten pregnant a dozen times. Instead, every time I wasn’t pregnant, I earned a beating, as if that would help. I dreaded getting my period, not for the usual reasons that most women don’t care for it, but because I knew that for the next week, I would be black and blue. He avoided my abdomen, just in case, and my face, well, after the first time. I still have the scar on my lip from the first blow less than a month after our wedding.”

“Belle was just a girl at that time. Her mother was assigned to me, to help me with whatever I required as the new queen, clothes, hair, etiquette. She would usually be there with her mother, learning what to do. She was like the little sister I never had. She and her mother were there for me, patching me up after everything Leopold did to me. Her mother died young and Belle took over. She’s been keeping an eye on me ever since.”

“Losing Daniel, trapped in a loveless, abusive marriage, I turned to magic as a way to give myself something that was my own. It gave me strength when there was nothing else in my life. As my powers increased, so did my confidence. I became the woman you know now. But my pain also turned me bitter, it turned me into the evil queen who took out my pain on those who got in my way. I blamed your mother for setting it all in motion. I’ve hated her all these years.” She uncorked a fresh bottle of wine and refilled both their glasses.

“When Leopold died, I was happy, not that I could show that to anyone. I played the grieving widow, but I knew the people would never accept me in his place, never love me the way they had loved him. So, I decided they would fear me instead. You see, you can only rule through love or fear. I found I enjoy the power that fear gives me. You’ve heard the stories of some of the things I did, so I won’t bore you with those details.”

She continued walking around the room, drinking her wine. “What you saw today with Ruby was a part of how I assert my power. When I was with Leopold, he held all the power in the relationship, especially sexually. As my only experience was with him, that’s how I interact with any partners now. I refuse to be put back in that position, with anyone, man or woman. And now you know my story.”

“I’m sorry, your highness,” Emma spoke softly, clearly moved by all that she had heard.

“You had nothing to do with how my life evolved, Emma. You weren’t even born.”

“I know, but it was my family, and I doubt they apologized to you, so I’m doing it for them, not that it changes anything.”

“No, it doesn’t, but thank you.” She looked out the window at the darkness. “I’ve kept you long enough, thank you for tonight. You may go back to your room.” She emptied her glass and made her way to the bathroom.

Emma got herself ready for bed, but after all she had learned about the brunette, she found sleep to be elusive.


	5. Chapter 5

“You’re up early, your majesty. Is there anything I can get for you?”

Regina inhaled the scent of freshly baking bread. “Nothing for me this morning, Granny, but perhaps a couple of carrots?”

“You’re spending a lot of time in the stables lately.” The older woman noted nonjudgmentally. “You know where I keep them.”

“Thank you.” Regina sorted through the vegetables, finding the best ones for her beloved steed.

“Will you and the girl be eating in your room again today?”

“Probably, why?”

“I was planning on making your lasagna for you tonight.”

“I would like that.”

***

“Emma! I need you to draw me a bath.”

“Yes, your highness.” Emma emerged from her room to attend to the queen.

Emma stopped breathing when she saw the naked queen walking toward her and the half-full bathtub. “Breathe, my dear, I can’t have a dead mistress on my hands.” The ruler smiled to herself at the reaction her body prompted.

“Yes, my…my queen.” She shook her head to clear the confusing thoughts from her mind.

Regina lowered herself into the steaming tub and relaxed against the hard porcelain. “Do you want me to wash your hair again, my queen?”

“Yes, but not yet. I just want to enjoy being in here for a moment.”

“Is there anything else you wish me to do in the meantime?”

A lascivious smirk passed over the queen’s features as she thought about things the two of them could do in the tub of water. “I’ll let you know.”

“Thank you, my queen.” Emma watched as the older woman soaked. “Do you go riding every day, your highness?”

Regina smiled thinking about the feeling of her powerful mount between her legs, the wind rushing past her. “I’m not always able to, matters of the realm to attend to and all that. It helps when I need to clear my head. Do you ride?”

“Um, no, your majesty, um, horses scare me.”

The older woman frowned. “Some horses are high spirited, but many are very gentle animals. Maybe you just haven’t met the right one yet.”

“I only know the ones my father rode.”

“Perhaps I’ll take you to meet Rocinante one day,” she mused.

“He is your horse?”

“One of many I own, but he’s been a good friend to me. He’s a good listener.”

“I would think a queen would have many people to listen to her.”

“There are many in my court, but most only fawn over me in an attempt to win my favor and keep me from snapping their necks.”

“If you need someone to listen, my queen, I ahhh…” she trailed off.

“You ahhh what, Emma?”

“I liked listening to you, last night, I mean, when you were telling me things.”

“Things I shouldn’t have spoken of.” She dunked her head beneath the water to conclude the conversation. She kept herself enveloped in the warmth until her lungs screamed to be allowed to refill with air. She heard her blood rushing past her ears and felt her heart beating harder, trying to keep her alive for a few moments more. She felt the girl lifting her up, up toward the air, toward life.

“Are you okay, my queen?” The girl, now soaked for her efforts, frantically shook at the older woman as she gracefully took in a deep breath, banishing the darkness that had begun clouding her vision.

“Perfectly fine, Emma, you may wash my hair.”

She nervously poured a dollop of the queen’s shampoo into her hand and worked up a lather. “I was afraid, my queen, you didn’t come up for air.”

“What were you afraid of, my dear, that I might die? I suspect many in my realm, your parents included, will celebrate when I draw my final breath.” The reality of how her subjects felt about her was no secret to the monarch.

“I wouldn’t be one of them,” she softly revealed.

“And why is that?” She relaxed into the girl’s ministrations. “I’ve done many unforgivable things over the years. I have killed, raped, tortured. I hunted your family. Your parents are in my dungeons as we speak and you are here, imprisoned in my chambers, subject to any and all of my whims. I am the Evil Queen, after all.”

“You’ve shown me kindness.”

“It may not always be that way, Emma.” She ducked her head back under the water, rinsing the shampoo from her hair.

“Why haven’t you harmed me, your majesty?”

“What?” The queen looked at the girl, confused as to why she would ask such a question of her.

“I just meant…the Evil Queen would have…done things to me, but you haven’t. Why?”

“Do you want what you’re asking for?” The queens' voice rose as she ascended from the water.

“I-”

Regina waved her arm, water dripping off her, as Emma flew backward across the chamber and onto the bed. The queen exited the tub and strode naked toward the shocked girl.

“Is this what you want, Emma?” Regina’s riding crop appeared in one of her hands and a large strap-on in the other. “Is THIS the queen you wanted to see? You weren’t happy enough just to wash my hair? You want the full attention of the queen of this realm? You want to feel my wrath? You want me to brutally take the innocence your parents so desperately wanted to keep from me? IS THAT WHAT YOU WANT?”

“No, your highness, no, please, no, it’s not what I want.” Tears began flowing down her cheeks.

“Leave! Now!” Emma scrambled from the bed toward the door. “Have Belle send for Ruby.”

***

Emma sat on the floor outside the queen’s chambers while Belle fetched the maid. When the two servants returned, they looked down at Emma’s tear-streaked face.

“Is something broken or…?”

“Nothing’s broken. I’m so sorry, Ruby, please forgive me.” She reached up to take the maid’s hand.

Ruby refused the gesture. “You need to learn to please her yourself. It’s supposed to be your job now.” She took a deep breath before she entered, preparing herself for what she knew to expect on the other side of the door.

“What happened, Emma? Weren’t you able to please her?” This wasn’t the first time a new lover hadn’t proven up to the task of satisfying the volatile woman.

“What’s…what’s happening…to Ruby?” Emma bawled.

“What would have happened to you, most likely. Tell me what happened, what you did that displeased her, I may be able to give you some pointers for next time.” She had been on this side of the door for years and knew many of the queen’s secrets.

“Nothing happened. I just…” They heard Ruby cry out and Emma cringed knowing it was all her fault the woman had to go through this.

“You just what, Emma?”

“She was in the bath; I had just washed her hair. We were talking.”

“Talking?”

“Yes.” Emma was confused.

“You were talking to the queen? Having an actual conversation?”

“Ummm, yeah, sort of.”

“She talks to you, not just orders you around, and uses verbal manipulation?” Belle asked.

“Yeah,” she drew out, “we talk about our lives and stuff.”

“You…she…you talk to each other, like a conversation, like we’re having right now?” She asked incredulously.

“Actually, what we talk about has a little more substance than this conversation. Why are you asking? What did I do wrong?”

“Queen Regina doesn’t talk to anyone. She gives orders, she torments, she doesn’t have civil conversations, not for years. She used to talk to me sometimes but that was before.”

“I didn’t know. She…she talks to me, I didn’t know. I only asked her a question and she got so angry. She hasn’t been like that with me before.”

“What did you ask her, Emma?”

“My parents told me stories about how cruel she was to everyone. I just asked her why she was being so nice to me.”

“How is she being nice to you?” Belle had been wondering what had been going on in the queen’s chambers since the arrival of the young blonde. The queen had been differently moody from her usual and she had neither seen, nor heard, any signs that she had been abusing the girl.

“Well, maybe not nice, but certainly not mean. She hasn’t laid a hand on me in anger, well maybe sort of, but not until just now when she magicked me to the bed.”

“She was finally going to break you in. She must have been toying with you, lulling you into a false sense of security,” she mused.

“I don’t, I don’t think it was that.”

“What else would it be?”

“I think she took what I asked as a challenge. She was just…I don’t know, asserting her dominance.”

“As I said.”

Emma shook her head minutely, lost in the memory of minutes ago. “I saw the fire in her eyes, the sparks in her hands, she was naked, she was beautiful. If she had wanted to hurt me, she could have, but she didn’t. She had her riding crop and a…a ahhh…male appendage thing. She yelled at me to leave and get Ruby.” The girl blushed recalling the moment.

The pinkening of Emma’s cheeks was not lost by the servant. “Why didn’t she use them on you?”

“I…I don’t know.”

Belle was beginning to wonder about something. “When it happened, what were you feeling?”

“I was frightened, but there was something else, too. I was…” She didn’t know if she should reveal her emotions to the servant, but she didn’t know what else made sense. “I was excited, and warm, and-” The heavy door opened, and Ruby exited carrying her clothes. She glared at the blond as she passed.

“Did she hurt you badly this time?” Belle was concerned for her friend and she looked her over to assess the damage.

“No more than she usually does.” She swallowed her tears, refusing the let the reason for her punishment see her cry.

“I’m so sorry, Ruby, I truly am.”

“Then spread your fucking legs and do your fucking job, Mistress,” she spat.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this one is a little shorter than the other chapters, but it was a good stopping place. I hope you continue to enjoy the story :)

“What do I do now? Do I go back inside? I don’t have anywhere else to go.” Emma’s tears had stopped flowing and she had finally clamed down.

“She ordered you out of her chambers. If you know what’s good for you, you will stay right here unless and until she requests your presence again.”

“How long do you stay out here?”

“Until she tells me I may leave, unless she isn’t inside. I serve at the pleasure of the queen and I know better than to cross her.” She hoped to instill that into the newest member of the queen’s closest servants.

“How do you know when she comes back?”

“She’s the queen of this castle, of the entire realm. Her comings and goings are noted, and I’m always informed of her returns. Unless, of course, she uses magic to teleport.”

“Excuse me, ladies, I have a delivery to make.”

“Of course, Granny. Why are you up here this evening? I usually come down or you have her meals sent up.”

“Sometimes I just need to get out of the kitchens, now continue your conversation while I get her majesty her dinner before it gets cold.” The elderly woman entered the queen’s chambers unannounced.

“I didn’t-Granny, what are you doing here?” Regina was surprised to see her unexpected visitor.

“Delivering your dinner, your majesty. I made your favorite lasagna like I mentioned I would this morning.” She busied herself with setting the tray on the table the queen had been using for her meals for the last few years. She usually ate in her quarters unless pressing state matters required that she entertain in the formal dining room on the main floor of the castle.

“Thank you, but why are you up here. I didn’t even call down for my meal yet.”

“I thought it was time the two of us had a little chat, your majesty, like we used to. It’s been a long time.”

Regina smiled weakly as she remembered time spent with the older woman. Eugenia was always someone she could come to when she needed to not be alone but was unable to talk to anyone. Just being in her presence seemed to be able to calm the queen. “Was there something you needed to talk about? Something amiss in the kitchens?”

“No, your majesty, I have the kitchens running like clockwork, you know that. I wanted to talk about what’s going on with you lately.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Her defensive walls began rebuilding themselves.

“I think you do, Regina.”

“I’m certain I do not.” Her jaw was set like iron.

Granny poured the queen a generous glass of the wine the monarch favored and handed it to her. “Your majesty, I know nearly everything that does and does not go on in this castle, and I’ve known such since before you were one of its residents. For example, I know which maids are sleeping with which guards and I even know which one is pregnant and who the real father is, even if she is unsure of the man. I also know what you were doing with my granddaughter less than an hour ago as well as what you are not doing with your mistress.”

Regina took a swallow from her glass. “What I do or do not do with anyone is no one’s business but my own, you know that, even if one of those people does happen to be related to you.”

“I know that very well, your majesty, but you also know that my family members know things about you that others don’t. Don’t forget, we can smell it on you. We will keep your secrets just as you keep ours, never worry about that, Ruby knows how to keep her tongue, too. But we can smell the change in you.” She was referring to the lycanthropy that had run in her family for generations.

“Whatever are you talking about?” Regina respected the old woman enough to allow her to continue the conversation, but she wasn’t about to confirm anything she might be imagining.

“Since you took the girl for yourself, you’ve changed. You’ve been spending more time with Rocinante, more than usual, I mean. That tells me you’ve got a lot on your mind that you don’t have anyone else to talk to about. I know you love that horse, but I also know that he keeps your secrets and helps you work out your thoughts.”

“And what’s wrong with spending time with him. You know I’ve always loved the freedom I get when I’m riding.”

The gray-haired woman smiled. “There’s nothing at all wrong with that, your majesty, just making conversation. But don’t forget what I’m smelling on you lately.”

“The only thing you might be smelling on me right now is Ruby. I had bathed just before I called for her and haven’t washed her off yet.” She finished her glass of wine and poured herself another.

“Your pheromones have changed, your majesty. I know your scent and how it changes. This is different on you, something I’ve never smelled on you before. It’s sweeter. I can only suspect it means you may be having feelings for the girl.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” she snorted. “She is Snow White’s daughter. I’ve only taken her to get revenge on her parents.”

“Then why haven’t you done that, taken her?” she challenged. “After all, you’ve claimed her as yours.”

“I’m-,” the queen faltered. “I’m biding my time, savoring my revenge.”

“That’s one possibility. Another is that you find yourself caring for the girl and you can’t bring yourself to take from her what was so cruelly taken from you so many years ago by the king.” Eugenia knew that she could be playing a dangerous game with the Evil Queen, but she felt confident that their history and mutual respect would protect her. “What you may not realize, and maybe she doesn’t yet either, is that you don’t have to take that which will freely be offered. Have a good night, your majesty. I’ll send the girl in; I’ve brought enough dinner for the both of you.” She left without waiting for a response from the queen.

“Just give her majesty a few minutes, Emma, your dinner is inside.” Granny left to check on the final clean-up of the evening on her kitchens.

“She was in there for a long time, what do you suppose they talked about?”

“Granny is one of the few people the queen truly respects and listens to, it’s hard to say.”

“Maybe she was talking to her about Ruby?” Emma offered.

“Mmm, unlikely, Ruby is no stranger to these chambers, that conversation would have happened before if it were going to happen. You’d better go in; you don’t want to keep her highness waiting.”

Emma knocked and poked her head into the queen’s chambers. “May I come in? Granny told me to but it’s your decision, my queen.”

Regina sighed and nodded her assent as she gestured toward the table. “She brought a plate for you.”

Emma took a couple of bites of the lasagna. “I’m sorry about earlier, I didn’t mean to anger you, and I’m sorry you had to take it out on Ruby. Please tell me what to do to make it up to you, your majesty. Please teach me what I need to do to please you. I want to be able to make you happy.”

Regina didn’t respond, she had trouble swallowing her dinner, even though it was usually one of her favorites. “When you’re finished, have Belle take care of the plates and she may go for the evening. You will spend the rest of the night in your room.” Regina flicked her wrist and disappeared in a cloud of purple smoke.

***

“Hey boy, you didn’t think you’d see me again today, did you.” Regina kissed his velvety muzzle. “I’m sorry, I don’t have anything for you this time, I just flew over without stopping in the kitchens.” She grabbed a brush from a nearby shelf and began grooming her prized steed. “Granny thinks I’m falling for Emma and I’m not sure that she’s wrong. I can’t be, though, she’s Snow’s daughter. I’m the Evil Queen and villains don’t get happy endings. Sometimes I wish you could talk. I need someone to tell me what to do, to explain what I’m feeling.” She wondered if there was a spell that could give her equine verbal abilities, but if there was, would he give away her secrets.


	7. Chapter 7

“Leave us.” The queen commanded the kitchen staff as she looked singularly at the woman who ran the most important part of the castle.

Granny held up her hand, stopping the exodus. “They have work to do, your highness, if you wish your guard to have their meal. Why don’t we leave them instead?” She indicated a door off the main kitchen that Eugenia used as her office. Regina entered the small room and sat on one of the two chairs. The older woman followed, having grabbed a cup of coffee for the monarch.

“You’re up early this morning, how was your ride?”

She sipped the hot beverage. “I haven’t been riding this morning.”

“Oh?” Granny’s keen sense of smell detected the overwhelming scent of Regina’s prized steed.

“I spent the night in the stables.”

“You slept with your horse rather than the girl?”

“If, by girl, you mean Emma, then yes.”

“Even after what we talked about last night?”

“I can’t care for her, Granny, it’s not possible.”

“And why is that?”

Regina sighed. “So many reasons. I’ve hated her mother for my entire adult life. I’ve literally hunted her parents. She’s a child, I’m entirely too old for someone so young. And after all the things I’ve done, I don’t deserve anything good in my life.”

“So many reasons that are as much horse crap as you were sleeping beside last night,” the old woman scoffed. “Where do you want me to start?”

Regina only looked into her half-empty coffee cup. She was both tired and emotionally drained after spending the night sleeping beside Rocinante, hoping he could give her answers.

“Yes, you’ve done some bad things in your life, some of them horrible and unforgivable, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t do other things to try and redeem yourself in some way. I know you do good things, too, you’ve never been all bad. It’s because of you that kids these days can read and write. The king never put much store in educating the peasants, but you wanted them all to be able to go to school, and they are all better for it. It’s so much easier on me now when I bring someone new into the kitchens and they can read a recipe, that wasn’t the way it used to be.”

“And yes, you’ve hated Snow White for years and you’ve hunted for her, but we both know you that if you really wanted to catch her, you could have done it long ago. I know that you know some pretty powerful magic and I’m sure there must be some spell or whatnot that would have found her pretty easy, but I think you just needed to hate her for a while more than anything else.”

“I can’t forgive her for making me lose Daniel and forcing me into that living hell of a marriage to her father.”

“Think about this, your highness, she and your mother, don’t forget about the part she played in your being wed to the king, were responsible for turning you into the Evil Queen. They were the ones who broke your heart. What if it’s her daughter that could mend that heart? I know you’ve been taunting them down in the dungeon with the things they think are happening but what if those things were really happening, with both of you as willing participants.”

“That could never happen. The things I’ve done to her parents, kidnapping them all now. And she just turned eighteen, I’m an old woman.”

“I’m an old woman and I look it, but you, your highness, you stopped aging over two decades ago and we both know you know how good you look.”

“One of the benefits of magic, even though it does come at a price.”

“Everything comes at a price, Regina. It just depends on whether or not you’re willing to pay it.” She took the queen’s hand, squeezing it, and left her alone with her thoughts.

***

It was nearly lunchtime when Regina emerged from the office beside the kitchen. Granny looked up from her work to see the normally regal woman quietly slip away with her head low as she went back toward her chambers.

“Your highness! Your highness!” An out of breath soldier called out to her.

“What is it, Graham?” She sighed feeling a headache coming on.

“I don’t know how it could have happened, but the prisoners have escaped from the dungeon. I have my best men out looking for them as we speak and I’m sure they will be found before dark.”

“Call them off.” She spoke softly.

“Your majesty?”

“I said call them off. I let them go. I’ve sent them home.”

“Your majesty?”

“Call them off, Graham, there’s no one to find.”

“As you wish, your majesty.” He saluted his queen and left to speak to his men.

“Belle, have Ruby come up and clean my chambers, especially the small bedroom. I don’t want to be reminded of her. Send up one of the others as well, I need it done quickly.”

“Right away, your highness, but what about Emma?”

“I’ve sent her home, where she belongs.”

***

“How is she?” Belle asked her friend after she finished scouring the queen’s chambers of every remaining sign that Emma had ever been there.

“She’s out on her balcony, just looking at the horizon. It’s kinda sad really, it’s like all the fire has gone out of her. What do you think happened?”

“I’m not sure, but I think maybe she started to feel things and she got scared.”

***

“Your highness, you have to eat something, it’s been almost four days.” Belle cleared the untouched food from the previous meal.

“I’m the queen, I don’t have to do anything I don’t want to.” Regina refilled her wine glass. “And I’m getting plenty of fruit out of these bottles.” She waved the now empty bottle at Belle.

Belle sighed, “I’m pretty sure you need more than just fermented grapes to sustain you. Is there anything I can get for you?”

“No, you can leave for the evening.”

“As you wish, good night your highness.”

***

“You need to get out of bed and do something with yourself. I got up early and made these apple turnovers special for you and you’re going to eat one.”

“Well, good morning to you, too, Eugenia. I told Belle I don’t need anything, you can go.” Regina rolled over in her big, empty bed.

“You sent that girl away. It’s by your own choice that you’re here alone.”

“I didn’t have a choice. She deserves to have a chance to find love and have a happy life.”

“Maybe she did already, did you ever think of that?”

“It doesn’t matter how I feel about her, she deserves better.”

“Better than living in a castle, eating my delicious turnovers, and being loved by a queen?”

“I’m a horrible person and I don’t deserve a happy ending. She’s lived a sheltered life and has barely even met anyone outside of her parents. Just because she spent some time with me doesn’t mean I’m her best option. I sent them all away so she could live her best life.”

“How very noble of you. This isn’t going to give rise to an even worse version of the Evil Queen, is it?”

“No, she’s gone. It’s just me now, empty and alone.”

“I remember the girl you were, in the days before you were married to the king, and I remember all the changes you went through over the years, but I’ve never seen you like this.”

“Like what?” She challenged.

“You’re a husk of the woman you once were, your majesty, everything that makes you the formidable woman I know you to be is gone and it worries me. I don’t want to keep seeing you like this.”

“Then don’t.”

“Your majesty?”

“I’ll get over her sooner or later, Granny. Just let me be for now.”

“As you wish.” The old woman turned to leave but stopped to look back just before she reached the door.

“Granny?”

“Yes, your majesty?”

“Thank you.”


	8. Chapter 8

“Your highness,” Belle entered the queens' chambers, unsure what state of drunkenness and personal hygiene levels she might find the woman in.

“I told you I’m not hungry, Belle, but I’m getting low on the Merlot, so maybe you could bring some with next time instead of more food that will go to waste.”

“I’m not here about that, your highness, you have visitors down in the main hall.”

“I’m not taking any visitors, please send them away.” She faced the wall, not wanting to engage with the faithful servant.

“You’ll want to see these visitors, your highness.”

“I highly doubt that. Unless it’s a wine merchant?” She asked hopefully.

“No, your highness, it’s Snow White…and Emma.”

“Emma?” Regina’s eyes danced at the thought of the younger woman, then she sighed. “No, I can’t see them. Please send them away.”

“But your highness…” Belle wanted to plead with the queen that she needed to see the young woman, if for no other reason than to provide closure for the two of them.

“No, Belle, she needs to live her life. I let her go so she could find her happiness. I’ll be…I’ll be okay.” She waved backward for Belle to leave her.

“Would you like me to draw your bath, my queen?” Emma had slipped into the queen’s chambers unnoticed by either woman. Belle smiled at her appearance, nodded to her, and quietly left the two of them as they clearly needed to talk.

“Emma?” Regina’s head perked up at the sound of the younger woman’s voice.

“Yes, my queen, I’m sorry it took me so long to return, it took some time to convince my parents to allow me to come.”

“I sent you away so you could find your happiness. You shouldn’t be here.”

“My place is with you, my queen.”

“Regina, you need to talk to Emma.”

“Snow? Since when does my bedroom have a revolving door? Why are you here in my chambers?”

“Because we need to talk, all of us. And you really need a bath.” She moved to open the balcony doors to allow some of the stagnant air to escape.

Regina waved her hand and she was instantly groomed and dressed. “Better? Do I meet with your approval?”, she asked sarcastically. “Now why are you here and why are you in my chambers?”

“I came up because Emma came up. And thank you for getting dressed.”

“Why did you come back?” She softly asked Emma.

“Why did you send me away? Why didn’t you even tell me you were doing it? One minute I was in my room waiting for you to return from your ride and the next I was back home with mom and dad.” The confusion on her face was heartbreaking to the monarch.

Regina reached out, taking Emma’s hand in her own. Both women felt the tingling in their bodies at the touch. “There are so many reasons for me to have let you go but they all come down to me wanting you to be able to have a happy life.” She looked at Snow. “I will be leaving all of you alone from now on, you don’t need to live in seclusion anymore.”

“Thank you, Regina. Emma told us that the things you taunted David and I with while we were in the dungeon were all untrue. She told us you treated her with respect.”

“Guilty as charged,” she sighed as she walked out on the balcony.

Snow followed her. “We need to finally talk, Regina. You’ve hunted me for decades and then you just let us go without laying a finger on any of us. All you did was make some things up about what occurred between yourself and Emma, things that never happened. And then you let us go without a word. Why?”

“What difference does it make! I let you all go, I told you I won’t bother you again. You can live your lives without fear of me. Just be grateful, accept it, and go back home.” She threw her hands up into the air and stormed off the balcony. “And you, go back home with your mother, fall in love with the butcher’s son, and live a long, joyful life with lots of kids.” She poofed herself off to the stables.

***

The queen rode full out, giving Rocinante his head to run to his heart’s content. She wanted to feel the wind rushing past her face, her hair whipping behind her. His thundering hoofbeats blended with her throbbing heartbeat. It was the best she had felt in the week since she had sent the Charming family away. When they closed in on the creek, she slowed the horse so he could rest and get a drink.

“She came back. Now, what do I do?” She held her head in her hands. He nuzzled her ear, trying to get her attention. “What is it, boy?” She looked up as he kept turning his head in the direction of the castle. “You want to go home? Or are you telling me I need to go home?” He nodded his head up and down as she smiled at him. “You want me to keep her, don’t you.” He nodded once more. “But what do I tell her?” He just grabbed a mouthful of green grass and chewed it thoughtfully. “Oh, so now you don’t have any answers for me. All right, let’s go.”

***

“Are they still in there, Belle?”

“Yes, your highness. Do you want me to have anything sent up?”

“Not right now.” She entered her chambers. “Snow, could you leave us, please?”

She looked at her daughter for confirmation. “I’ll be right outside if you need me.”

“Emma, why did you come back?”

“It wasn’t the butchers' son mom and dad wanted me falling love with, it was the woodworkers’ son, August.” Even though she had sent Emma away to find her happiness, Regina felt a pang of jealousy at the thought of the girl being with another. “We all had dinner, he’s a nice guy and all, tall, good looking.”

“Just like the hero’s in your fairy tales,” the queen smiled.

“I guess, but I told them no.” She looked at the floor.

“Why would you do that?”

“When he took my hand after dinner, I didn’t feel anything.” Regina looked at her, confused. “I didn’t feel anything. When you touch me, I get this tingly feeling.”

“Tingly feeling?”

“Yeah.” She reached out, tentatively taking the queen’s hand. “It’s warm, in my belly, and lower, it feels…”

“I know how it feels. It happens to me, too,” she admitted.

“You do!” Emma looked up with a smile on her face.

“Yeah, I do. That’s part of why I knew I had to send you away. I was feeling things for you.” Emma didn’t reply, she felt sure the queen had more to say but was having trouble finding her words. “I told you what happened to me when I was married, what the king did to me.” Emma nodded. “And I’ve done the same to most of the lovers I’ve taken since then, you’ve even seen it with Ruby. I don’t want that for you. You deserve to be loved in a way that I don’t know how. I loved Daniel so many years ago, but we never, we never got to that stage in our relationship.” She squeezed Emma’s hands. “I want so much more for you than to be my mistress. You deserve happiness, you deserve love.”

“So do you, my queen. You deserve happiness and love, and I think the tingling is trying to show that to us. I talked to my mom about it, she said that’s how she feels when she’s with my dad.”

A single tear fell down the queen’s cheek as she tried to sort through the emotions coursing through her body. “Are you all right, your highness?” Emma was always concerned about the well being of the older woman.

“I…yes. Are you sure this is what you want? That I am what you want? I don’t know how to be what you deserve.”

“Yes. And I think that maybe we are what each other needs. All I know is that I want to keep feeling the way I feel when we’re together.”

More tears escaped down Regina’s cheeks and she nodded her assent. “I won’t have you as my mistress, you are better than that.” Emma’s face fell but before she could speak, Regina continued. “Emma, will you be my wife?”

The End?


End file.
